CHAPTER 37

Essa lets me get a peek in before we begin walking back to the pool room. Barely daring to place a finger in view of anything past the door, I have to steel myself before I look.

The first thing I notice is that the drake is gorgeous. Many times larger than a horse, with golden scales of different hues and bright, gem-like eyes. It huffs as it digs a nest to bury itself in, moving its head from side to side with each movement of its mighty paws. It looks like a gargantuan lizard. Wingless, without a speck of intelligence in its eyes, but a lot of meanness present to make up for the lack. It’s too big to fit through the passage.

On the way back, we walk in silence. But after I catch Essa looking at me from the corner of her eyes, she hesitates and then begins explaining her plan, such as it is.

There are four entrances into the central room. They have the Ruby Key that will open the Golden Door.

“As you see, you can’t bait the thing to the traps. Even if one of the magic weapons cached in the trapped rooms is powerful enough to face up to the drake, you’d still have to face him head on.” Essa pauses here, just a moment, and then says in a rush: “If we all run in at once, if I attack it, maybe not all will get caught. A few may escape, and the others can find some comfort knowing that they were instrumental for that.”

It’s the same plan as leaving Hilde wounded behind. I’m surprised that I’m not surprised that Essa is willing to throw herself in with the rest of us, to lead from the front. I can feel the resolve in her voice.

The worst is knowing that I’m about to break her heart.

“Only one person can use each Key.”

Essa doesn’t react with anger or passion. She simply shakes her head. It must have crossed her mind at some point, even as her leader’s optimism forced her to move on and hope for the best. I take consolation from the fact that it’s best that she knows what to count on than to rely on false hopes.

We can hear voices when we come in view of the door to the pool room. Watcher-boy is nowhere in sight.

“Who—?” I start, but Essa is already running, drawing her sword in a fluid motion and barging into the room.

I follow behind, but before I can get past the entrance I hear a muffled cry, and then quiet. Essa’s sword is lying on the sand, and watcher-boy is looking on, goofy smile on his face, while Essa herself is wrapped in a hug with someone new. Copper hair peeks over Essa’s shoulder, buried between it and her neck.

“Rev!”

She pulls out of Essa’s arms and looks me up and down.

“I can’t believe you,” she mutters. “I got to the room a second too late. I saw you falling.”

The image of a hand reaching for Hilde crosses my mind.

“Yeah, well. It takes more than a little pit.”

I give a joking little half-shrug and the next moment she pulls me into a hug. I squeeze her back.

“Careful,” she says, flinching.

“Oh, that’s right. Your face.”

We pull back and look each other over. Either Rev’s burn along the lower jaw wasn’t as bad as I thought, or she managed to find some healing herbs since last I saw her. But that’s not the wound she’s complaining about. I startle to find that Rev is limping somewhat, resting her weight on a single leg.

“How did—”

“What is she doing here?” Essa demands.

Only then do I notice that standing to the left of the entrance and looking sheepish is Hildegarde with Rue is sitting on her shoulder, buzzing softly.

“Hilde!”

“What are you doing here?” Essa repeats.

Trembling a little, Hilde opens her mouth to answer but Rev cuts her off.

“She’s here because I brought her here. And because I probably wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her.”

Essa looks to my sister and then down to her leg, coming to the same conclusion as me.

“You’re hurt?”

“It’s nothing,” Rev waves her worries away. “The way I got the wound is more important than the wound itself. Essa, those four finally made their move. I don’t know what you think they’re doing out there, but they attacked us.”

Every eye in the room is focuses on Essa. By her expression, this information doesn’t surprise her in the least. It embarrasses her thoroughly, however; uncannily, now it’s Essa who’s looking at the floor, unable to meet our gaze.

“I know,” she says, sighing. “It was a matter of time before they convinced each other they were better off alone, and the way things are going here… They finally split off a while before Malco arrived. They attacked you?”

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Rev nods. “We heard the voices coming, but we just kept going. I thought it was a patrol, or maybe even you... As soon as they saw us, they startled. If they hadn’t looked so nervous I would have let them get closer, and who knows what would have happened. We managed to outrun them when the drake roared. That thing echoes.” She smiles. “I guess I have you to thank for. Introducing my brother to Goldie, were you?”

Her attempt at good humor falls flat in the face of Essa’s impenetrable expression, but it does wonders for my morale.

“Please tell me,” I say slowly. “That you didn’t name the two-ton fire-spitting lizard Goldie.”

“What, he needed a name,” Rev says frowning. “In any case, it’s better than Rue.”

I shoot Hilde a look, but she just shrugs at me.

“First,” I say, turning back to Rev. “No, no it isn’t, not by a mile. And second, Rue named himself!”

From Hilde’s shoulder, Rue buzzes approvingly.

“Oh, and I suppose we’ll just trust you on that.”

“Better than calling him Blobby,” I say, rolling my eyes.

We watch each other defiantly. We hold on nearly a couple seconds before smiles manage to break through our expressions.

“Excuse me,” Essa says.

We pause.

“Who is Rue?”

We explode into laughter. The first time, I’m sure, since these tunnels were built, since the Black Sword Guild painted himself looking down on those who are about to die. It comes from exhaustion mixed with relief mixed with the sheer certainty that none of this is going to end well, but for a moment the laughter is enough to make everything better. My eyes are wet and my abs hurting from exertion when I finally manage to look Essa in the eye again, but her annoyed expression only gets me going again.

*

After we’ve composed ourselves and made the necessary presentations, Rev jumps to organizing people and things. The first thing she does is explain that, in the interest of trust, nothing can be left unsaid, that we must share everything we know if we are to find a solution, a way out. And then she nods to Hilde, who reaches into her pocket and pulls out the Sapphire Key.

I don’t think anyone is more surprised or alarmed than I am, at least until Rev turns to me with a meaningful look in her eyes.

“I don’t have it,” I managed. “Wyl…”

But Hilde’s apologetic expression says everything. She’s spilled the beans already. I groan inwardly, and then rise to fetch the emerald hidden in the sand outside. Watcher-boy whistles as I bring it inside.

He then asks the inevitable question: we have keys. Why not use them to leave immediately? Essa explains why while the rest of us nod along. The new information, that each door will only allow one Challenger through, sinks in silence. In this room, there are six people and only three keys.

But nothing more is said about it, thankfully. Reva sets the keys on the sand where everyone can see them.

“We need a plan to get to the Golden Door.”

“We have a plan,” Essa says.

“I’ve seen your scribbles in the bench.” Rev gives her a long, meaningful look. “They seem to involve someone sacrificing themselves, and that won’t do, obviously.”

Ignoring Essa’s eyeroll, Rev drags an upturned bench over the sand to smooth it over. Then, with the butt of her spear, she redraws the map, the concentric circles and the central chamber, the door, the drake, the pile of gold. We all watch in silence, sweating in the uncomfortable warmth. I feel the beginning of a headache that Rue’s buzz, comfortable on my shoulder, can’t really distract me from.

“The hoard,” she says, pointing at the oval.

“The way out,” pointing to the central X.

“And—” as she points to the skull, in this incarnation more like a chaotic mess of lines

“Goldie,” I say.

“Precisely,” Rev says without a hint of embarrassment.

We’re all seated in the remaining benches displayed around the drawing, which, besides the central area, includes also the two outer rings, the passages connecting them, and our location relative to the center.

“For those not in the know,” Rev nods to me and Hilde. “The larger ring is safe. The middle one is riddled with traps, some of which we’ve activated already or disabled, but most of which will still kill you. Stick to the middle path to avoid them. The central arena is almost cut off from the rest. The passages are too small for Goldie to get out.”

We all focus on the drawing, willing it to surrender more secrets. Moments pass. Rue buzzes in his own absent-minded way, as focused as the rest of us through whatever means permit him to access the visible world.

“Have you tried arrows?” I say.

“They plink off,” Rev says.

“Ah.”

“We’re going to have to face it,” Essa says as if to herself. “Head on.”

Silence.

“If anyone has any ideas, don’t be shy,” Rev says.

At first, no one comes forth. I’m distracted by an insistent and pervading warmth that’s climbing up my cheeks. I stand up and go to a pool of water, where I begin to remove the bandages from my hand. Stupid. Should have washed it first thing when I arrived. The cool water feels divine on my mangled hand, and I focus on that sensation instead of the sorry state of the appendage itself.

There’s a little cough. We all turn to look at Hilde, whose first reaction is to blush.

“Erm,” she says. “I—I’d like to say something first. I’m sorry.” She looks up at Essa. “I’m sorry for trying to run with the chalice. Even though I had my reasons, it wasn’t the right thing to do, and I’ve come to realize all the lives I put in danger through my actions.”

Rev turns to Essa, who’s watching Hilde with quiet intensity.

“You’re forgiven,” Essa says. “If you stick with us and help us defeat the drake, I’ll consider your debt paid.”

She turns back to the drawing.

“And?” Rev prods.

Essa lifts her eyes up to her, genuinely surprised.

“And don’t you want to say something to Hilde as well?”

“No. Her actions were inexcusable at the time, and my punishment turned her cowardice into bravery. Even if unwillingly.”

“That’s not the point,” Rev insists. “The monster in the second level wasn’t even alive at the time. You injured Hilde for nothing, and if my brother hadn’t been there…”

“I’m don’t want to discuss this any further,” Essa cuts in. “You’re not going to change my mind. I’ve accepted the dwarf’s apologies—”

“The dwarf?” Rev interrupts. “That’s Hilde, for you information, and—”

“Please.”

We all turn to Hilde again. She’s standing now and her eyes are filled with fierceness and determination. I don’t know where she summoned them from, but I like the spark it brings to her expression.

“I wasn’t done. On the way here we passed some rooms with magic weapons inside, and you, Essa, are saying we’re going to have to fight the thing. Wouldn’t it make sense to equip ourselves better first?”

“Those rooms are heavily trapped,” Essa says. “We lost a lot of good people there.”

“Yes. But back then we didn’t have a sure way to evade traps and still get the prizes inside.”

Essa’s head snaps up, staring intently at Hilde.

“You have something like that?”

“I don’t,” Hilde says. “But Malco does.”

I can sense the way everyone turns to face me just as I remove my hand from the water. Its red, swollen, and something nasty happened to the wrist when I was suspended above the pit. Dislocated, at the very least. But I’m not thinking about all this, no, this is an automatic process started in the back of my mind while the rest of it observes its own destroyed body and panics. Rue’s buzz has turned from its customary low-key vibration to rapid, nervous activity.

“Yeah,” I say. “I think we can manage that.”